Improvement in refrigerators



B.A.sTEvENs.

REFRIGERATOR;

Patented Nov. 30, 1875..

Noma-,602,

.my A fr Yfyefw INVENTOR 1f- By Attorney N. PEYS. PHOTO-I lrHoGRA STATESPATENT OFFICE;

BENJAMIN A. STEVENS, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN REFRIGERATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 170,602, dated November30, 1875; application iiled September 15, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, BENJAMIN A. STEVENS, of Toledo, in the county ofLucas and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Refrigerators, of which the following is aspecilication:

My invention relates to a refrigerator so constructed as to aiford readyaccess to its interior, to facilitate the cleansing of the inner -sidesor walls and other interior parts; and

my objects are to removably secure the ice-pan and shelves in place,andto prevent leakage at the joints in the lining of the refrigerator.

The subject-matter claimed will hereinafter specifically be set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a front elevation; Fig. 2, avertical transverse section on the line :rm of Fig. l; Fig. 3, alongitudinal central vertical section through'Fig. l; Fig. 4, a sectionon the line yy of Fig. 3.

A refrigerator box or case, A, constructed in any suitable way, is, inthis instance, provided with a hinged top or cover, a., and doors B B.rlhis box has a sectional lining, C, of

zinc or other suitable material, over the botl[om a and around thesides, the joint c, between the side and bottom lining, being made abovethe bottom, as shown. IEhe sides and bottom of the refrigerator arejoined at c', above the line ofthe inner surface of the bottom, and thelining-joint c is forme-d, in this instance, by the adjoining flangededges of the side and bottom lining being butted and clamped in thejoint c between 'the sides and bottom of the refrigerator. (See Figs. 2and 3.) Shelves or grates D D slide in and out through the doors B B onsupporting-ledges d d d el on the wall ofthe refrigerator, and on aremovable partition, E, supported by detachable fastenings, shown asconsisting of hooks e on the` partition, which rest, when the partitionis in place, in eyebolts e on the front and rear sides of therefrigerator-wall. By this means not only may the shelves be removed forcleaning, but the supporting-partition may also be detached from itseyebolts and taken out, affording ready access to the walls and bottom,for thoroughly cleaning them when desired, and leaving the interior ofthe case unobstruct-v ed. Anice-pan,.F, is detachably supported in therefrigerator by means of recesses orA from the ice-pan down to anopening in the bottom.

To remove the various parts from the refrigerator and leave the wallsand bottom ae-` cessible for cleansing and repair, the shelves are drawnout, the partition lil is lifted from its supporting-sockets e andremoved at one ofthe doors B, the drip-pipe detached by sliding it firstupward on the short top section projecting from the under side oftheice-pan, and then downward through one of the doors, and the ice-panthen lifted so that its stops or lugs g, Fig. 2, will clear thesupporting-ledge formed by the channel f, and-then slid into thischannel until the opposite edge of the pan clears the channel f', whenit may be depressed, lowered, and removed from one of the doors, theprevious withdrawal of the shelves, partition, and drip-pipev leavingthe path clear for such removal.

By the construction herein set forth it will be seen that any drippingsfrom the walls of the refrigerator above the ice-pan will fall into thepan, which projects inward beyond the sur- `face of the wall at thefront and back, and projects under hoods or ledges H H at the ends, andunder downwardly projecting lips or sharply-turned edges h h in thelining of the tops of the recesses. ln this manner little, if any, waterescapes below the pan, while the cool air has ample space to descendbetween the ends of the pan and the walls of the refri gerator, whileany water or condensed moisture that might run down the sides of therefrigerator will settle upon the bottom without any possibility ofleakage, owing to the location of the joint c of the lining above therecessed or centrally-depressed portion of the bottom a.

Any accumulation of drippings on the bottom may be drawn off by thedrip-pipe, which should be perforated even with the surface of thebottom for this purpose.

In a refrigerator, I claim as my inventionl. The combination,substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the side walls, havingrecesses f j, and the removable ice-pan inserted in the recesses, andprojecting therein beyond the surface of the walls, to catch the drippings.

2. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of therecessed side walls, the ice-pan inserted in the recesses, the lipsprojecting downwardly from the recesses, the end walls, and the hoodsoverhangin g the ends of the pan, whereby the drippings are caught,while allowing the air to circulate freely around the ends of the pan.

3. The combination of the box or ease, its side Walls, the ice-pansupported thereby, the removable central partition, and the removableshelves, these members being constructed and operating substantially asset forth,where by the ice-pan may be removed and inserted from below.

4'. The refrigerator constructed,substantial.

ly as hereinbefore set forth, with a bottom rei BENJ. A. STEVENS.

Witnesses: FRANK B. SWAYNE, F. M. BRAMWELL.

